Email marketing is an area of marketing in which automation is completely essential. You simply can't do email marketing effectively without some version of an autoresponder program, which automates subscriptions, list organization and message broadcasts. Here are 7 essential tips for automating your email marketing for the best results possible.

Offer Something ValuableThe freebie you offer as an enticement to sign-up, the content that drives traffic to your sign-up page, and the content of your email messages all need to be very high quality. Don't offer subscribers anything but the best. It's the value that will keep your subscribers tuned in and lead them to buy. You can automate and let the program run by itself, but make sure you spend time on your content first so that your readers see the benefits.

Test Your MessagesBefore sending a message, test it with your own email address. Make sure that the body of the email looks the way it's supposed to. You should also test it on all of the different devices your subscribers will use so that you know it looks alright and functions correctly.

Send Messages Consistently but Not CompulsivelySchedule your messages so that they're consistent, but not compulsive. In other words, send messages regularly but don’t overdo it. Too many messages feels like spam. Too few and people will forget you. Strike a good balance and pay attention to analytics to see if it's right.

Personalize Your EmailsAlthough a software program is sending your messages, it should feel like they're coming from you. Personalize your emails with the subscriber's name in the greeting. Try segmenting your list according to demographics or subscriber preferences so that you can offer the content that's most appropriate to each reader.

Offer Contact InfoMake sure that there's contact information on each message that you send. You should have at least an email address, but include a phone number (even better, an 800 number) if possible. This way, your subscribers can always reach a real person if they want to with questions or comments.

Clean up RegularlyGet into a regular routine of cleaning up your list to remove email addresses that are no longer valid and duplicates. If you have too many of these bad addresses, you may get penalized. Some autoresponder programs have automated options for regular clean-ups.

Monitor ResultsCreate customized reports through your automated email marketing program that will give you relevant data to let you know how you're doing. The only way you know whether your email marketing efforts are effective or not is through objective data. Your autoresponder can deliver it to you.Automate as much of your email marketing as possible and you'll have time to do the more important things that only you (and not a computer) can do.